Philadelphia, PA-At 5:00pm on Thursday March 30th, the fourth day of Fossil Free Penn’s sit-in for fossil fuel divestment at the University of Pennsylvania, 130 students joined together in College Hall. 69 students stayed past College Hall’s 6:00pm closing time and received citations, with disciplinary actions pending.

After opting to receive these citations, students marched out. With the mobilization of over 200 students over the course of four days, from March 27th through March 30th, Fossil Free Penn ended its sit-in.

“While the sit in is over, our fight for climate justice and fossil fuel divestment is not” stated College Senior Peter Thacher.

The administration proved unwilling to move on Fossil Free Penn’s demands which were:

Immediate divestment of the University’s endowment from all companies involved with the extraction of coal and tar sands

The establishment and commencement of a plan for full divestment from all fossil fuel corporations within six months

After allowing students to sleep in College Hall without repercussion Tuesday night, on Wednesday citations were given to 13 students who chose to stay past the building’s 6:00pm closing time. On Thursday morning, administrators informed representatives of Fossil Free Penn that they were no longer willing to negotiate with the organization as a result of the rule violations.

By 5:00pm Thursday March 30th 130 students had joined Fossil Free Penn in College Hall, and 69 opted to receive citations that night.

“We proved that the student voice is strong and cannot be suppressed; and if the Board of Trustees continues to act complacently, we are willing to take action once again,” said Wharton freshman Megan Kyne.

Leaving the building at 7:00pm Thursday night, Fossil Free Penn left a letter with the administration outlining three demands that must be met by September 2017. These include divestment from companies involved in coal and tar sands, the creation of an interdisciplinary task force that includes members of Fossil Free Penn to implement climate solutions, and the public release of the analysis that had been used by the Trustees to reject divestment in September 2016.

This action came after years of campaigning including a February 2015 undergraduate referendum where 87.8% favored fossil fuel divestment, a faculty letter of support with 130 signatories and an alumni petition that counts 315 signatures including Noam Chomsky ‘55. A 48-page researched proposal for fossil fuel divestment was presented to Penn’s administration in November 2015.